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Day Six.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6)
Between midnight and 1am, Friday, October 21st, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





In charnel passageways under the ground, by blade and by bludgeon, the restless dead of Briarsgate have at last been mercifully silenced. For now.

Pelias lays hands upon Moogeye and the blessed gifts of his deity heal her grievous wounds. (+4 hp) The young woman awakens from unconsciousness. The paladin hopes this 'mercy' hasn't condemned the courageous monk to death.

The adventurers leave the serpent's nest and the grisly carcasses of reptiles and undead villagers. At the first tunnel juncture, the still, cold air has grown heavy with the smell of smoke. Telkis turns right and the group moves south. All is quiet.

The channel descends slightly and soon reaches another intersection of dark, constricting shafts. By Ingrid and Bo's lanterns, several pathways are seen winding into the eerie earthen labyrinth. The easternmost burrow has standing water at the edge of the light.
Here, the sickly stench of death is almost overpowering.


Actions?

Map: Each square is 5 feet. Movement in the tunnels is halved.
Only the illuminated areas, that were visible to any PC this round, are shown.
Red marks the dead.





Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 16/17
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 5/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 2/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 2/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 8/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 6/19

Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter

"Unless there are any objections, I'll continue to the right. If my sense of direction doesn't deceive me in these stinking tunnels, the other way takes us back towards where we entered," says Telkis. "We do seem to be descending slightly, though, which disturbs me."

Moogeye rises, cracking her joints experimentally to make sure that nothing is permanently damaged. "Thank you, Pelias. You will remind me to pay a tribute to Heironeus if we make it out of here alive."

The monk falls into position and keeps her eyes and ear open behind the party. "Sloping downward? It could be to avoid the village pond. Does anyone know where the river is in relation to us? I woke up down here and have no idea where north is."

Pelias bows his head to Moogeye, acknowledging her thanks.

"Friends, we must consider getting some rest. We all bear wounds - some are serious. Our practicers of the arcane and divine arts have used much of their energy. Another serious onslaught would be the end of many of us. I suggest we rest in the serpent room. It is easily defended, though the smoke is a worry."

"This is not the time or place for a nap," objects Grothnak. "We must find an exit at once."

Bo

I will not sleep down here in this tomb. Let us move along. We can avoid conflict by using caution but we must find a way out of here.

"Right it is," Avril says matter of factly, acknowledging Telkis' query, and ignoring the squabbling. "Let's find our way out of here, then we'll rest."

Day Six.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6).
Between midnight and 1am, Friday, October 21st, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





The adventurers hesitate a moment in the unearthly catacombs, weighing their serious injuries against the failing air, and then press on in their desperate effort. Descending further to the west, the channel begins to tighten like a noose.

At the back of the line, Ingrid shows Moogeye which direction is north (the top of the map), as Long Bo holds his lantern to peer down the long, dark, easternmost branch. The druid recognizes the muddy tunnel. He had been there before:

• • • • DM wrote:Long Bo creeps further south, isolated from everyone else. The druid peers into an eastern shaft and is immediately assaulted by the stench and sight of grisly death!
        
        The path opens into a den, littered with bones (23). Human bones. They've been picked clean of all their meat; cracked open and the marrow sucked out.
        
        In the corner, near a rib cage, is a decapitated human head. By his lantern light, Bo recognizes the face. It's Snigrot, the dirty, rat-faced cook of the Golden Grain Inn. Bo last saw him dead, at Pelias' hand, one entire leg hewn clean off by the paladin's righteous sword.
        Now, his severed head has been picked clean of flesh.
        
        
        
        But the eyeballs, still staring sightlessly in their sockets, have been spared, perhaps for a special occasion. Or a special guest.
        
        Long Bo flees the den of horrors.

Meanwhile, at the front of the line, Telkis advances west through the narrowing, scraggy passageway. The sickening fragrance of death grows stronger. His only lightsource, emanating from Ingrid's lantern 15 feet behind him, projects the changing shadows of Pelias, Grothnak and himself into his field of vision.

The gnome warrior, Grothnak and Pelias can barely discern vague shapes, 25 feet directly ahead, in an unlit, widening cavern. Within the writhing dance of light and shadow, they see what appears to be a dark altar.
Behind it looms a large, gruesome figure; alien, bone pale, tentacled and serpentine. (at '?')
The ghastly abomination is facing the adventurers as the undulating chiaroscuro penumbra crawls across its still, hideous form.
Actions?

Map:

• • Each square is 5 feet. Movement in the tunnels is halved.
    Only the illuminated areas, that were visible to any PC this round, are shown.

Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 16/17
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 5/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 2/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 2/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 8/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 6/19

Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

"Afar Angathfark!" swears Grothnak quietly. He grasps Vadok tightly in both hands and draws upon every ounce of his courage to prevent looking away from the abomination at the other side of the cavern.

"This...is not the exit," he manages to croak.

Telkis is not at all sure the party is ready to encounter this... thing, because he has no idea what this thing is. He can't even tell if it's aware of them or not. "Back up! he whispers. "Back the way we came! We need to form a plan!"

Avril, recognizing her position near the rear of the party, hears Grothnak and Telkis call for a retreat. "Bo," she starts quietly, echoing the lower volume of those issuing the earlier warnings. "That way," she whispers, and points down the hallway just beyond the hulking druid's position. "Moogeye, you follow me," she says, stepping in front of the laboring monk.

Bo still feels totally out of his element down in this muddy tunnel of death. He takes the instruction from the she elf and quickly begins heading up the tunnel to the north.

He hopes that whatever the others have found doesn't kill them all before they can make good their escape.

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid stares at the unspeakable, shapeless horror... then joins the rest of the team in carefully back-tracing their steps.

Moogeye lets Avril aside and nods, following her and Bo toward—hopefully—an actual exit.

Pelias' jaw slackens at the sight of the...thing. "What is this devilry?" he asks in a whisper. He allows the others to pass him as he focuses on the amorphous being, attempting to detect the presence of evil.

Day Six.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6).
Between midnight and 1am, Friday, October 21st, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





A nameless dread, deep and ancient, overtakes the heroes. Slowly, Telkis and Ingrid back away from the incomprehensible sight of loathsome, otherworldly horror. As the lantern recedes with them, the pitch darkness mercifully swallows up the blasphemous monstrosity and its heinous appearance is purged from the eyes, if not the memory. Perhaps it was memory that caused the profane vision to linger on the inside of their eyelids with every blink, there rendered red with the blood of that warm, fleshy canvas.
Or perhaps it was something else.
The vile, amorphous being did not follow them; did not slither out from the darkness. Yet.

Avril, Moogeye and Long Bo move northeastward, and the crouching druid recognizes the muddy, outermost branch of the twisting skein of tunnels. It leads to the inn's dungeon, and the inferno of fire and smoke therein. That direction offers no escape from this hellish underworld.
If there is a way out, only two possibilities remain: west to the altar and the pale, horrific thing beyond imagining (24), or the untried path north (20).

Meanwhile, against every urge, Grothnak and Pelias stand their ground. The young paladin concentrates on the now-dark cavern ahead, and detects great, powerful evil within. Then Pelias focuses directly upon where the ghastly, eldritch entity had loomed, and detects nothing!

Actions?

Map:

• Each square is 5 feet. Movement in the tunnels is halved.
  Only the illuminated areas, that were visible to any PC this round, are shown.

Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 16/17
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 5/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 2/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 2/15, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 2/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 8/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 6/19

Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

Pelias states the obvious. "There is great evil in that chamber. I suspect it may be the source of this town's troubles. Let us return to vanquish this force when we are at full strength. I do not like our chances in our current state...."

Telkis will move Northward 15' to peer into the unexplored chamber (20). He'll borrow the lantern, unless the lantern bearer comes along as well. "Unless there is a ladder or a spiral stair, this cannot be the way out, by my calculation. But let's have a look all the same," he says.

"We may have no choice but to face this foe," answers Grothnak, standing his ground and facing into the chamber.

"We might also wait until the inn burns down and sneak out in the wreckage," whispers Moogeye.

"I would risk suffocation before I risked combat with that great evil." Curbing her desire to check out the unexplored cavern (20) with Telkis, Moogeye sits tight and keeps a lookout up the northeast passage, waiting for a report one way or the other about their future options.